Hacking Hogwarts
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: McGonagall notices that the Wizardnet is much slower than usual, and Snape makes multiple plans with different allies and victims... Completely AU, partly OOC.


**Hacking Hogwarts**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

'We need to make Umbridge believe that...'

'_What?_' Minerva thought, impatiently trying to refresh the chat window. '_Recently, the Wizardnet is so slow. I wonder what's wrong. Is that because all students are online at this time of the evening? Perhaps we should set up a new rule, which forbids the use of notebooks after curfew. Anyway, it might be faster to just floo to Severus' quarters and speak with him_.'

Completely annoyed by the delay, she pointed her wand at the computer, making a new line appear on the chat window.

Darth Vader: 'To make her believe what?'

To her surprise, the sentence was not displayed as a whole, but each single letter slowly appeared one after the other. '_This is strange_,' she thought.

R2D2: 'Something is wrong. Darth Vader, let's meet in Chewbacca's office in a few minutes.'

'_All right_,' Minerva thought, pointing her wand at the computer.

Darth Vader: 'All right.'

With a flick of her wand, Minerva shut down her computer and swiftly walked to the Headmaster's office, wondering if her colleagues had an idea what could be off with the Wizardnet. Impatiently refusing to accept the offered lemon drop from the Headmaster, she looked at the Potions Master in expectation.

"I believe that someone is trying to hack our accounts," Severus said thoughtfully. "I assume that it is one or more of the older students."

Minerva stared at her younger colleague in disbelief. "But how would the students know... Could it be Dolores?" she interrupted herself.

Severus smirked. "She is too much of a dunderhead to distinguish the front from the back of her PC. In fact, I had to teach her about twenty times how to log in with her user name and receive emails."

'_Oh right, everyone had to get their login data from Severus at the beginning of the school year_,' Minerva recalled. Since the Potions Master was very interested in setting up a database for his potions, he had been the one to cooperate with Professor Flitwick and the Ministry in order to get the computers work in the magical world and to set up the Wizardnet.

"As to the students," Severus continued, "depending on how much time they spend playing and researching their computer and the Wizardnet, they might find out how to hack other accounts. Fortunately, I am not completely unprepared. I did some research myself and together with Filius developed a charm that affects all hackers. We merely need to log in to the Wizardnet server and cast the charm."

"How exactly will it affect the students?" Minerva asked sternly, causing the Slytherin Head to roll his eyes.

"It won't kill them; it will only curse all who try to hack the teachers' accounts, so that the hackers won't be able to do any magic for forty-eight hours, except for in emergencies. This means that they'd still be able to fight in case Hogwarts was attacked. However, they'll have problems in class."

"That is a good idea," Dumbledore said, thoughtfully popping a lemon drop into his mouth. "I will make an official announcement that will make everyone, who is affected, visit Poppy." Slowly sucking on his lemon drop, he queried, "I trust that you did not exchange any top secret matters through the Wizardnet?"

"Of course not," Minerva replied quickly, glaring at the Headmaster. "Just our usual Head of House exchange in addition to the information we shared with you."

Severus nodded shortly as he sat in front of the computer, pointing his wand at the screen that displayed, 'Welcome to the Wizardnet Server. Login: R2D2, Password: xxxxx. Login accepted.'

He once again pointed his wand, and a long litany of code appeared on the screen. Minerva inwardly shuddered as all the letters and figures meant nothing to her. However, after quickly skimming the text, Severus nodded contentedly and pocketed his wand.

_The Gryffindor common room~_

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry in surprise, when he all of a sudden began to moan and his face took on a pained expression.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked in concern, putting her quill on the table.

"I don't know," Harry whispered, "hurts."

"What hurts?" Fred asked, looking up from his notebook.

"You should study for your NEWTs instead of playing on the Wizardnet the whole evening," Hermione scolded him lightly, before she cast Harry an expectant look.

"We're not playing; we're spying on the teachers," George explained. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"My hand," Harry whispered, looking at his infected hand in shock. A green liquid was slowly spreading on the normally thin red lines, and he somehow did not feel well. As to make everything worse, he began to shiver violently.

"Harry, are you ill?" Hermione asked worriedly, noticing that beads of sweat began to cover his forehead.

"I'm fine," Harry said weakly, flinching back when George pointed his wand at his head.

"It's all right, Harrykins, he is merely trying to take your temperature," Fred explained, following his brother's example.

"This does not work," George stated, sounding very surprised.

"No," Fred agreed, now trying to cast the spell at his brother – in vain.

"Well, you properly need to practise some," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the twins.

"I'll just go to bed," Harry mumbled and retreated to his dormitory, glad that Hermione and Ron were distracted by the twins' problem.

"Well, we'll try again tomorrow," Fred said, pocketing his wand. "It's strange though, because we practised the charm ever since Mum taught us last summer, and normally it works."

"Oh no!" George, who had turned his attention back to his notebook, suddenly exclaimed. "Look at this. That must be our problem."

Hermione and Ron stood behind the twins and looked at the screen, reading the latest entry in shock.

Headmaster: 'A virus is going around the magical world that makes students unable to use magic. If you are affected, go to see Professor Snape after your last afternoon class. Madam Pomfrey will not be able to heal you in this case.'

The twins let out a collective groan. "That means we have to go to the greasy git tomorrow afternoon. And how are we supposed to do magic in class?" George queried.

"I thought Dumbledore was Chewbacca," Fred uttered in confusion.

"Chewbacca?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Baka means idiot in Japanese. I read that somewhere. Why would Professor Dumbledore be an idiot?"

The twins chuckled. "Chewbacca is a Star wars character. Even we know Star wars, since Dad took us to a Muggle movie theatre last summer. But you as a Muggle born should know that."

Hermione shrugged. "Oh well, I don't." She held out a parchment. "Here, try to accio this, so that we know if you're affected by the virus."

To her surprise, neither of the twins were able to cast the simple first year spell.

_Next morning in the Transfiguration classroom~_

Minerva glanced around the class to assess if any of the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years were affected by Severus' charm, sighing in exasperation, when Hermione Granger informed her that they had already practised transfiguring wooden mice into real mice two weeks ago and were supposed to learn how to transfigure them into cats.

"I know that, Ms. Granger," Minerva replied calmly; "however, since not everyone was able to perform the Transfiguration flawlessly, I decided to practise the easier spell, before we proceed to the next topic."

'_I need them to cast a spell, which they can already manage in order to see if their magic is affected. Harry seems to have problems_,' she realised, terrified. '_Oh no_,' she thought. '_I could have expected the twins to try hacking our accounts, but Harry?_'

"Mr. Potter," she said sternly. "You seem to have caught the virus that is going around affecting people's magic. Please go to the Potions classroom to see Professor Snape after your last afternoon class."

"Yes Professor," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Professor," Hermione threw in, "shouldn't Harry go to see Madam Pomfrey. He does not only have problems with his magic, but he is burning up."

Minerva looked at the boy, noticing that he looked outright ill. "Mr. Potter, since when have you been feeling poorly?" she asked in concern.

"Last night, since around curfew," Harry responded, seemingly annoyed by the interrogation.

'_In that case, it must be the virus_,' Minerva thought and said, "Since his magic is affected, it must be the virus, and Madam Pomfrey cannot do anything about it. Mr. Potter, if you feel too unwell to attend classes, you may return to your dormitory."

"Thank you Professor," Harry said gratefully, casting Hermione a relieved look.

_The Potions classroom~_

Although Harry accepted his Head of House's suggestion and spent the afternoon in bed, he felt considerably worse by the time the last afternoon class ended. Feeling extremely relieved that the twins waited for him in the common room, he dragged himself to the dungeons together with his two friends, who seemed to feel much better than him and only had problems with their magic. Together, they hesitantly entered the Potions classroom, wondering why Snape was the one to be able to help them and not Madam Pomfrey.

Apart from Harry and the twins, Draco Malfoy and a Ravenclaw seventh year were assembled in the classroom. The Potions Master motioned them to take a seat at one of the tables, on which he had prepared parchments and a quill.

'_Parchments and quills?_' Harry wondered. '_Are we here for detention?_'

"Excuse me, sir..." Fred was the first to speak up.

"...We were sent here in order to receive help with the virus," George added, causing the Potions Master to smirk.

"You won't need magic for your detention. Write the sentence on top of the parchment fifty times. That should be possible before dinner. You will serve two more detentions tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

"Detentions?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy," Snape replied, sounding very bored.

Harry glanced at the parchment. '_I will respect other persons' privacy_,' was written in the professor's meticulous hand writing. '_What?_' he thought. '_Am I in the wrong film?_' Feeling too miserable to endure any further conversation and glad to be able to sit down at the same time, he set to work, thinking, '_At least it's a normal quill and not one like the one Umbridge makes me use_.'

Unfortunately, the letters began to dance up and down in front of his eyes, so that he had merely managed to write ten sentences by the time the others were finished with their writing.

"Potter," the professor drawled, handing everyone else a potion. "If you think you'll get around your detention, you're sadly mistaken. You will not leave this room, before you finish your sentences."

"Yes sir," Harry mumbled, feverishly trying to concentrate on his writing.

The Slytherin Head dismissed the other students, before he leaned over his desk, glancing at Harry's writing. "Potter!" he suddenly shouted, "what are you trying to achieve?"

"Nothing sir," Harry replied, terrified. "I'm trying to write my sentences."

"Potter, how stupid do you think I am? Even a five-year-old would be able to write better than you," Snape hissed angrily.

Harry felt as if the professor's voice sounded from far away, and he had the impression as if he was moving, although he was firmly sitting on his seat. "I'm sorry Professor," he whispered, "but I am very dizzy and the letters are moving up and down the whole time," he said in a small voice. "Would it perhaps be possible that you give me the potion first sir?"

The Potions Master looked at the boy in surprise, taking in that his eyes were glassy and surrounded by dark rings. His hair was even messier than normal, and his cheeks stood deeply flushed in his otherwise pale face. He quickly extended a slender hand to the boy's forehead, noticing the heat that he radiated. "Mr. Potter, since when have you been feeling unwell?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Since last night, sir," Harry replied truthfully.

"And why do you assume that it comes from the magic affecting virus?" Snape sneered.

Harry closed his eyes for an instant, before he replied as calmly as possible, "Because Professor McGonagall said so and told me to come here."

"If it only was the virus, you would not have any problems apart from that with your magic," the professor said slowly. "Mr. Potter, please follow me into my office. I need to cast a diagnostic spell on you, and I'm afraid that we must call Madam Pomfrey as well."

_The Potions Master's quarters~_

Seeing that Harry could barely keep his eyes open, Severus transfigured the chair behind his desk into a sofa and motioned the boy to lie down. When Harry complied, he took the boy's temperature, staring at the high numbers that appeared from the business end of his wand with an alert expression. '_The charm was not supposed to make anyone ill, merely to suppress their magic_,' he thought, terrified. "Stay put Mr. Potter," he said, already on his way to the fireplace to call Poppy, glad that he had informed his colleague about the charm beforehand.

Pomfrey merely glanced at the boy and greeted him, before she turned into Healer's mode and cast a series of diagnostic spells. "Mr. Potter is indeed suffering from the charm; however, he also has a bad infection, which is causing the fever that he is spiking. Maybe he was already ill when you cast the charm and his ailments were covered up by his magic, before the charm hit him."

"Charm?" Harry asked, lazily opening his eyes half-way.

"Mr. Potter, don't make yourself upset now, but you and the other students, who attended the detention earlier, were hit by a charm, which was cast at all those, who saw fit to try hacking the teachers' accounts on the Wizardnet," Severus said in a soft voice. "We will speak about the matter later. For now it is more pressing to find out what your problem is."

"Mr. Potter, show me your hand," Pomfrey demanded in a gentle voice, reaching for Harry's injured hand, before she and the Potions Master let out a collective gasp at the sight.

"Mr. Potter, what did you do to your hand?" Severus asked sternly.

"Detention with Umbridge," Harry admitted in a small voice. "She makes me write on a parchment, and the writing becomes scratched into my hand."

"A blood quill," Poppy said, horrified. "Severus, he needs..."

"I know what he needs, but I'll have to brew it first," Severus interrupted her impatiently. "Will you take Mr. Potter with you?"

Poppy looked at the boy, who was lying there unmoving and with closed eyes. Only her schooled Healer's eyes were able to tell that he was awake. "Considering that it was one of our colleagues who harmed him, I believe that he might be safer if you let him stay in your guest room for the time being. I will of course check on him during the night."

Severus nodded in understanding. '_That gives me the opportunity to speak with the boy and plan certain actions_,' he mused, again nodding his appreciation when Poppy proceeded to take the boy to his guestroom, which was directly connected to her own office through a hidden door. On his way to his private lab in order to brew a strong healing cream laced with Murtlap essence, he strode by his PC, pointing his wand at the device to send a private message.

_PM f__rom R2D2 to Darth Vader and Chewbacca: 'Please come into my quarters in about two hours.'_

_Severus' guestroom~_

Harry jerked awake to something ice-cold touching his sore hand. "Easy Mr. Potter," the Potions Master's voice penetrated his ears. "This will hurt for an instant, but I need to apply the ointment."

"Okay," Harry mumbled gratefully and tried to relax, sighing in relief when he felt the immediate effects of the healing salve. "Thank you so much sir," he said gratefully.

"Better?" the professor asked, giving him an assessing look.

"Yes sir. May I return to my dormitory?" Harry asked, sitting up as to confirm how well he was.

The teacher pointed his wand at Harry's head, before he quirked an eyebrow and said sternly, "No Mr. Potter, you will need to stay at least overnight." He pulled a phial out of his robe pocket, handing it to Harry, who eyeing the potion but made no move to accept the phial.

"It's a fever reducer," the professor informed him and waited until Harry had obediently downed the light green liquid, before he said in a voice that surprisingly held no malice, "Mr. Potter, if you feel well enough to return to your dormitory, I am sure that you don't mind having a small conversation."

"Of course not," Harry replied in a small voice, looking anxiously at the teacher.

"Concerning any spying activities on the Wizardnet," Snape began sternly, frowning when Harry interrupted him.

"I'm sorry Professor," Harry blurted out, "for spying on the Wizardnet and also for looking into your Pensieve." Seeing that the teacher's expression darkened as he recalled the events with the Pensieve, he slowly explained, "I... Sorry sir, please don't tell Professor Dumbledore about it, but I know that he is hiding something from me, and I want to find out what it is. That's why I looked into the Pensieve and why I tried to spy on him on the Wizardnet."

Seeing that the Slytherin Head quirked an eyebrow in silent question, Harry spent the next twenty minutes explaining in detail why he was sure that the Headmaster was hiding something essential from him.

"Very well," Snape finally said pensively. "I suggest that we use tomorrow's detention to work together with the other participants setting up a plan on how to further hack the Wizardnet in order to intercept every exchange between the Ministry of Magic and Professor Umbridge, so that we can replace the mails from Minister Fudge, for example, with instructions how to behave according to Hogwarts' and our Headmaster's rules. At the same time, I will write a fictive mail from Professor Trelawney to Professor Dumbledore, which will surely make him inform you about his secret."

Harry looked at the teacher in amazement. "That would be great, and I'd love to work together on these two topics. I'm sure the twins will too. I think I wouldn't let in Draco on this though, because he seems to get along well with Umbridge." '_Snape has completely changed, from the greasy bat of the dungeons to an ally_,' he thought, wondering, '_Is that because of the Wizardnet? I think I love it_.'

_On the Wizardnet~_

Three months later, Harry, who was spending the summer after his fifth Hogwarts year together with his godfather Sirius, who finally was a free man, looked at his notebook to follow the latest conversation of the teachers at Hogwarts.

R2D2: 'Chewbacca, that can't be true! I won't accept such a thing!'

Harry chuckled, wondering, '_What are Snape and Dumbledore fighting about now?_'

Chewbacca: 'You don't have a choice, my dear boy.'

R2D2: 'Don't dear boy me, at least not on the Wizardnet.'

Darth Vader: 'R2D2, you should. I am extremely grateful and very proud of you, Harry, and the twins.'

Chewbacca: 'I will make an official announcement.'

Headmaster: 'I am proud to announce the award of the 'Order of Hogwarts' to Professor Severus Snape, Harry Potter, and Fred and George Weasley for restoring the inner peace and quiet at Hogwarts during an eventful school year.'

Groaning in annoyance, Harry pointed his wand at the computer to send a private message.

_From Snitch to R2D2: '__Congratulations for hacking the Wizardnet...'_

**The End**

_The Wizardnet user names are taken from my teddylonglong story "The Witch Strikes Back" as well as my story "Hacking the Wizardnet". I decided to keep the names in order to not confuse those, who have already read my other stories._

_Sorry for only posting oneshots. I spent some quality time in hospital, where I wrote these. I hope I'll be able to update my other stories soon..._


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